Cigarette opener and carrier



J. J. COBBS CIGARETTE OPENER AND CARRIER June 2, 1942.

2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 10, 1941 S (4 0' T). F T 7 W T m fl. T D s JA C H\ Z711; 707Z7ZZC0ZZM- INVENTOR.

June 2, 1942.

J. J. COBBS CIGARETTE OPENER AND CARRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 10,1941 INVENTOR.

|/// /////////////////l/ I //l A Patented June 2, 1942 7 UNITED STATESPATENT 2,285,188 e ement e R AND ee ee John J. Oobbs, Roanoke, Va. hrliee ieh the 19 S r a Ne- .97.???

. he i h reih r d sc i ed an la e i in uhders e s h t han e n t r i hdime t f the t i ehtieh he e d e le e a b ad With theeeehe a wha sleimed without departing frorn the spirit of the invention.

n e ee erhheh ihe d e h m 1 Shows :1 ele e; ehl a devi eehs m t e in eeeh e w th the ht eh ne1 ee e l 4 s e v t ea -s et ehtehe vet ri h ehe eto the showing of Fig. ,2; l

s a erase se ti n 9h t e l 9 Fig 2 the 6 i e qheiti dihe seetiehh r h-th5 is shown e e stthe ea 5P1??? beige shitt d slightly, eehsideree rleetite t the cu t n plane in Fig. 4;;

. is lf ee aehta rerheelsee h Wheh h the slide and the severir g bladeare sl ow -n advanced;

F i v e tieelseetiehsheet n e EQd QQ?" tion;

Fi 10 is is eti'eh hithe l h 1-0-1" 9 -i e- 1. is w rid l va iehl whe ei9 1 2 4 ro e away;

i z.i --ei. ee i @hithehhe 1 o f ie- I ca in ut. eihiiehtieh as SDQWQ inF s- 1 to St f 1.5 l i flti 9 ees h I, i ie he box-like ;body';2, shapedto receive a package 3 of cigarettes, the body having openings 4 whichexpose the cigarette package.

A lid 5 is connected to the body 2 by a hinge E, the hinge being springactuated to open the lid 5, as shown in Fig. 6. The lid 5 is heldreleasably closed by a spring latch I on the body 2, the latch beingreleased from the lid by means of a button 8 which is presentedoutwardly of the body 2.

A U-shaped carrier 9 fits slidably in the body 2 and receives thecigarette package 3. The side 6 r heed at the r upee 'ee s e seee' he hta m an the .hett zhe the ee ri 9 a r vi ed with iewe d h i etthl t aserevelit eete h-etweh h cigarette Ilackag' Y and the body z. The of thecarrier'ifare '5 shown at] IT, and

QQIEF QQ JYW fi the C s d i Fi gl, the lid will n t co is into contactwiththe upper end of the .ei'garette package; theflid en- 10 eas n theremitt d 9r we a s f the ter ier- .AI} hpwerely aetg e eh eesi p '1 iseld by a s u ing elenie t 1 4' i h h of the hq 2 a eae 's th e e je b t-15 tom of the carrier 9.

Ale t th et eh refh e ie e the fer described, assuming that the partsare in the positions shown in 1, 2 afndi3, when'tlie buti ton 8 ispressed, tlie'latch 'li's" released fromlthe When the o'f t he lid 5 .onthe rounded upper ends ll e f the carrier 9 is released, the carrier andthe cigarette Package 9 rise,"responsite 9 th rest ef th e i r e Q 4 ato al'piositionLiniwhicha cigarette oan Joe 7 a readily out of itZ" Theclosing of the lid 5 vrestor the "parts to the position of Fig. 2, ando, "so .witlioutexerting pressure on the upper end of'the cigarettepack- 30 age, the downward thrust being received by the upper end, toperrn tthe removal oiflthe top of invariably. The case or receptacleconstitutes 'merelyone .oonv, the' s litting 11150 H m.

The slitting rriechanismernbodies a slide plate I 5, mounted to.freciprocate on the-bottom of the ht steepes e teei iri e body I, belowthe bottom of the carrier 9. The

slide plate I5 is adapted to be advanced and retracted through anopening IS in one of the narrower side walls of the body 2. At its outerend, the slide plate I5 is thinned to form a reduced tongue 11, at theinner end of which is located a shoulder l8, disposed at right angles tothe tongue 11. A triangular blade I9 is let into the slide plate [5 andis secured thereto, the blade overhanging the tongue H, as depicted inFig. 7.

In the bottom of the body 2, an L-shaped bayonet slot 20 is formed. Theslide plate I is provided with a headed button 2|, mounted to move inthe bayonet slot 2|] and exposed beneath the bottom of the body 2, asFig. 4 will show. The bayonet slot is of such length, and is sopositioned in the bottom of the body 2 that when the button 2| occupiesthe lateral portion of the bayonet slot, the shoulder l8 on the slideplate I5 will be disposed flush with the outer surface of the body 2, asshown in Fig. 8. When the button 2| is dislodged from the lateralportion of the bayonet slot 20, the slide plate l5 and the blade l9 areretracted within the body 2, as in Fig, 2, by means of a retractilespring 22, one end of the spring being connected to the slide plate I5,and the opposite end of the spring being anchored on the bottom of thebody 2.

The operator advances the slide plate l5 and associated parts to theposition of Fig. 8, in

which position it is releasably held by the en- M gagement between thebutton 2| and the lateral portion of the bayonet slot 20. The cigarettepackage 3 is drawn along the outer surface of the body 2, in contactwith the shoulder l8 of the slide plate l5, the end of the cigarettepackage being engaged by the tongue H. The blade I9 severs the cigarettepackage circumferentially, and after it has been severed, the detachedtop of the package may be removed, the opened package being insertedinto the carrier 9, for the dispensing operation hereinbefore set forth.

The slide plate l5 and associated parts are shown in Figs. 1 to 8 asoperating at right angles to the longer axis of the body 2, but that isnot necessary. The slide plate may work lengthwise of the body 2, as inthe construction delineated in Figs. 9 to 12.

In Figs. 9 to 12, the body of the casing is shown at 23, and the carrierappears at 24. The bottom of the body 23 is provided with an upstanding,box-like housing 25, which is open at its bottom, as shown in Fig. 12.One end of a bowed spring 26 rests on the housing 25, the

opposite end of the spring rests on the bottom of the body 23, theintermediate portion of the spring engages the bottom of the carrier 24,and the spring constitutes means for elevating the carrier, togetherwith the cigarette package within it, when the lid, such as the part 5of Fig. 6, is opened.

The slide plate 21 is in the form of an angle member, comprising a shorttransverse arm 28 anda longer upright arm 29, arranged at right anglesto each other. The upright arm 29 works through a slot 30 in the top ofthe housing 25, inside one of the narrower upright walls of the body 23,as .shown in Fig. 9. The outer transverse arm 28 is adapted to bereceived within the housing 25.

In order to limit the downward movement of the slide plate 21, to theposition shown in Fig. 12, the arm 29 of the slide plate is suppliedwith a slot 3|, accommodating studs 32 which are mounted in the body 23,the studs retaining the slide plate 21 on the body for reciprocation, aswell as limiting the downward movement of the slide plate. Thetransverse arm 28 of the slide plate 21 carries a fixed, laterallyprojecting blade 33. The slide plate 21 is raised by a spring means,such as a resilient strip 34, having its upper end attached to one edgeof the arm 29 of the slide plate, the lower end of the strip beingsecured to the top of the housing 25.

In order to move the slide plate 21 downwardly, to the position shown inFig. 12, the arm 29 of the slide plate carries a button 35, exposed onthe outside of the body 23 and mounted to move in a longitudinal slot 36in the body.

By means of the button 35, the slide plate 21 is forced down, againstthe action of the spring 34, the blade 33 is exposed, and the cuttingoperation on the cigarette package proceeds as hereinbefore explained.When pressure on the button 35 is released, the spring 34 restores theparts to the position of Fig. 9, the blade 33 and the arm 28 of theslide plate 21 being housed in the part 25.

In either of its forms, the device embodies a satisfactory and efficientcontainer for a package of cigarettes, combined with a means forslitting the package, to remove the top thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A cigarette package slitter comprising a support having a slotprovided at its outer end with an extension, a slide mounted to move onthe support, a cutter carried by the slide, spring means for retractingthe slide, and a button on the slide and mounted to move in the slot,the button being received in the extension, to hold the slide and thecutter advanced, against the effort of the spring means.

2. A cigarette package slitter constructed as set forth in claim 1, andwherein the slide has a thinned tongue which is overhung by the cutter,the tongue defining a shoulder in the slide, the slot being sopositioned that when the button is in the extension, the shoulder willbe flush with the outer surface of the support.

3. A cigarette package slitter comprising a support, an L-shaped slideincluding a first arm located within the support, and a second armmovable to a position external to the support, means assembled with thefirst arm for mounting the slide for reciprocation on the support,

a cutter carried by the second arm, and means

